


Universal Lies

by hightechzombie



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic, Star Wars: The Old Republic
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-16
Updated: 2015-02-16
Packaged: 2018-03-13 07:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3373646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hightechzombie/pseuds/hightechzombie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of drabbles sketching the events of the Imperial Agent storyline and Cipher's relationship with Keeper.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Universal Lies

Cipher never really grasped the concept of her own mortality. The possibility of dying existed somewhere far away, but anybody who tried to bring her closer to it, ended up dead themselves. 

Cipher was no believer. If mortality came to her door without solid proof - bullet to the head, poison on tongue or a knife to the gut -, it shouldn't even bother knocking. She was the best of her peers, brighter and smarter than all of them. And if somebody outsmarted her, they weren't able to outgun her anyway.

This is why fear could never defeat her. Darth Jadus and his tricks were meant to fail from the beginning. The Sith could not fathom that a person - an alien of all things! - would not fear death. 

[The collar of scars itched to mark her lies. As long the scars remain, she will always tremble before the Sith.]

xxx

The Empire’s towers stood on slave bones. The road to success was paved with corpses. Knowing two simple truths, Cipher Nine had created a monument of her own. Six cities and hundreds of thousands dead, just to capture a single Sith. A victory beyond comprehension.

She spent the “vacation” locked in a hotel room, drinking. After the first week, Cipher decided alcohol was not enough and went for a scavenger hunt, seeking recreational drugs of the more interesting kind.

One of each type, that was the rule. Never more than one. Avoid the strong stuff and only try the drugs in a hide-out.

That occupied her for another two weeks. 

The fourth and last week of vacation, Cipher did not remember. It was a routine of get out of bed, stand in shower, eat cheap meal and return to bed that somehow managed to swallow a whole week of her life.

The “vacation” was a miserable experience that brought no relief, mended no wounds and did not make her feel prepared to return to work. The message at the terminal, requesting her presence at headquarters, flooded her system with dread and panic.

The feeling faded when she put on the uniform. Sitting in a cab and listening to the news, Cipher realized that monument of the dead stopped pressing down on her. She will kill again in the service of the Imperial Intelligence and no ghosts will stop her from doing so.

Capturing Jadus was the right choice. Cipher Nine had no regrets.

[The ghosts came as radio static, as gasps of the dying and screams of slaves. Dreams that mocked her resolve, but these dreams did not survive the sunrise.]

xxx

It was funny, in a way. The impervious Cipher Nine, who knew no fear and had no weakness, became a walking joke.

The punchline was onomatophobia.

She’d laugh, but she couldn't breathe at night. Her heart was beating like mad while the invisible collar rubbed against her neck. The scars became alive, reminding Cipher of the teenager she once was. A girl, who once foolishly mocked a Sith and paid for it. In a few seconds, an electrical whip curled around the teenager’s neck and left a reminder for life. 

But the scars and memory had faded. By adulthood Cipher Nine had already forgotten the sensation of choking. How the world begins to blur and words stop making sense. How the your lungs start burning and screaming. You become a puppet, helplessly twitching in somebody’s hands.

Before the reality had sunk in, Cipher still believed that she could still play the game and win. It was the report to Keeper that set things straight. Cipher had smiled and said “Everything is under control” while the mind flailed and screamed the opposite.

This was worse than choking. 

Cipher has been finally convinced of her own mortality. Not because she had gotten weaker, but because the alternative was worse. Death was a long-ignored friend whom Cipher finally invited home. 

In a way, the SIS really helped her to face reality.

[If this gets much worse, I will find a way to die. If I lose all hope, I will spill my brains and rip out my tongue and tell the fuckers “Good night”.] 

xxx

Hunter treated her like a dog. Even worse, like a little cute bitch that he could get laid with any time.

Which he obviously could. He held the leash and she wore the collar. Cipher cursed the her tongue, which flirted with him the day they met. Whether this gave Hunter any ideas or not, it did not matter. The memory made her skin crawl.

Hunter enjoyed power over her, but he was smart. Smart enough to stay away from her and to not let the words become deeds.

[Cipher dreamt of his burning flesh against her, the smell of sweat and lust. Choking. Then she woke up and curled up under sheets like a child.]

xxx

Cipher Nine kept trying to break free. Her movements were at first like of those of a drowning woman. Then she moved like hunted prey, sniffing out an escape route and always ready to run.

The news of betrayal helped to return to her old self. When she heard Keeper’s voice - now Minister - cold shock flood through her veins. Her mind knew, that brainwashing would not have happened without his consent, but the stupid heart did not wish to believe.

What Cipher felt next was desperation. She was betrayed and abandoned, discarded like trash and reprogrammed like a child’s toy. Her worth was temporary. If there ever was any worth from the beginning.

Ten years, she thought. At very most, this is all the time I have left. Even if I leave SIS, the Intelligence will try to kill me as soon as they can. 

This thought which for some reason calmed her down. Cipher was now collected and rational enough to begin seething with rage.

They put a gag in my mouth for saying the truth! They put bindings around my arms because they were too strong! I will spit out the gag and break my bonds. They will find a cage and I will turn it into a fucking starship. 

They have not met someone like me before.

[Maker of poison, master of deceit and mother of corpses. The punchline to this joke will be different than they expect.]

xxx

The ending was a bang, a boom and then deafening silence.

Cipher did not kill Kothe. She didn't hate him, that feeling was reserved for Hunter. Neither did she feel betrayed by him, that privilege belonged to the Minister of Intelligence. 

Kothe was a sad broken piece of an idealistic broken state. Cipher had bigger fish to fry.

[If Intelligence knew how soft she was, she would have died long time ago. Only Minister knew.... and Cipher used to think that he approved. No, no more about that.]

xxx

As sweet the freedom tasted, the victory felt cold and bitter. Cipher was alone. Imperial Intelligence was now a trap, instead of home. And even worse, a beast was lurking in the dark, waiting to strike.

Hunter was dangerous, but it wasn't him who kept up Cipher at nights. Such power, such unfathomable secrets… who did he work for? Conspiracies were not her specialty. Cipher Nine was a foot soldier in her heart, and there were others, far better at untangling the lies from truths...

Even liars and traitors could prove themselves useful. Cipher Nine was forced to return “home”. Return to Dromund Caas. Return to the Imperial Intelligence.

[A nest of vipers, but at least they are honest about it. Perhaps it was her that lied to herself, and not them. 

Ah, they can still go and fuck themselves.]

xxx

She felt a chill, a flash of anger and then despair. There he was, the man that sold her out. A Sith’s lapdog. 

Minister of Intelligence shushed her. Once it’s been established that their talk was private, talk they did. What happened next, couldn't be helped.

What glory it is, to return to the side of her master. Part of Cipher Nine knew it was pathetic and yet felt like coming home.

The Minister had risked much by organizing this meeting. And what did he use it for? For an apology. He explained his reasons. The Sith twisted his arm and this was the only way he could protect Cipher.

Of course, the Minister was hardly driven by altruism, Cipher knew that. He merely hated wasting resources and losing good agents. Hated stupid close mindedness. Hated sacrifices that served to purpose other than to satisfy the hunger of the Sith.

The Minister was loyal to his people and deserved loyalty in return. If the Minister had ordered her to die, she would have. The Imperium and the Sith circus were unworthy of him.

Cipher barely believed she deserved a leader like him.

[She was tired of fighting on her own.]

xxx

The hunt for the Shadow Cabal was a desperate and tangled mess. The countdown in her head (10 years, 5 years, 2 years left) counted down until it stopped mattering. It was doubtful that Cipher would survive the next weeks. 

She was at peace with that thought, but the idea of Hunter getting away was unacceptable. 

Cipher lost some of the old fear by now. She joked and even flirted with him when they had the time to chat. Hunter was showing weakness, that even his taunts and boasting could not hide. She will find and kill him, and now that she was certain of the fact, Cipher could afford to play with him.

[The only enemy she ever respected. A mirror twin. Cipher hated him for it.]

xxx

The price was so low, that Cipher could barely believe.

Mommy always told her, that one has to pay for everything worth having. Pain, money, freedom. 

So Cipher paid in pain, blood and fire. A few hours of endured torture. A few more corpses to feed the earth. A few more explosions. Listened to Hunter and smiled at him like a doll. Was this all it took to find the Shadow Cabal?

Of course, it was not all. It was others - unmentioned and forgotten agents - that had paid the price of information. Cipher did not have to betray her companions, her friends, her lover. Others had prepared her ascent, so that she could waltz in and reap the rewards.

The Minister. What did he have to give up to give her a chance? What did he risk for her to succeed?

Mommy was right about paying the price. But it’s not always you who pays.

[It’s like all scars are washed away and her skin is pure like a newborn’s. No more pain. No more fear. She did not deserve it, and therefore cherished the gift even more.]

xxx

Cipher remembered the day, they took away her name. She protested, but Keeper’s harsh words slapped her awake. You belong to the Empire. There is nothing that is your own. Cipher Nine, welcome to the world.

But the sacrifice of a name seemed so small now. When Hunter dropped her shield and exposed herself, Cipher recognized the pain. Hunter, a woman hidden behind the lies and subterfuge. Her gender sacrificed in the name of efficiency and secrecy.

Cipher saw a mutilated person before herself. Cut away everything, until the perfect agent appears. And by all heavens, Hunter was perfect! A better agent than Cipher could ever be!

“It was an honor.”

[Goodnight, sister. I’m sorry, nobody paid the price in your stead.]

xxx

Cipher was acutely aware of the stars, while travelling to Minister’s hideout. It was all she could think about. She saw the expanse of darkness and the strewn light, feeling as if she could touch it.

There was an air of barely contained cheering, when she arrived. The Imperials nodded at each other, the most jubilant expression among the Intelligence folks. It amused Cipher more than usual.

The Minister was stern, and he was tired. Cipher took mercy on him and spared him her jokes. Well, almost all of them. His expression soured and he cut off the small talk. Briefing in private.

There was something final about it. The Star Cabal was dead. Their archives, their insurmountable mountain of knowledge belonged to the Empire now. The keys to the world were in their hands…

Except, it was not the Empire, whom the Minister wanted to have the keys. They were meant for Cipher.

Suddenly, the world burst at the seams. The galaxy expanded in all directions, millions of stars which Cipher could reach. She would not die today, not in two years, not in five nor ten. Cipher Nine could not die anymore. She was immortal once again. The Imperial Intelligence was no longer her master. Nobody was. She was free.

As for the price, somebody always pays it. This time, it was the Minister.

“With luck, I may retire gracefully; without, I expect to be hanged.” His voice trembled up at the last words. Minister did not quite manage to keep up the facade. “But the others won’t be blamed for my mistakes.”

This man deserved loyalty, honor and respect, deserved power to be placed in his hands, but instead they will rip everything from him - his position, his subjects, maybe even his life. Because the cruel children hate wisdom and hate kindness. If Cipher could, she would cull every single Sith from the face of the universe.

“Sir,” said Cipher. What came next did not matter. Her mouth worked all on her own. Minister would understand what she wished to say either way, he always have.

“I owe you,” were the words on her mind. “Sir, I owe you everything. You have protected me and you have taught me how to stand strong. I won’t abandon you. Loyalty spawns loyalty in return. I will protect you, as you have protected me.”

“Sir,” she thought, “I will pay your price however I can. I will share my immortality. I will be your tool, even as you claim to be powerless.”

“Thank you. I won’t let you die.”

xxx

The stars beckoned her.


End file.
